The Parliament of Fowls

Chaucer, Geoffrey (c.1343–1400), translated by Kline, A.S., (contact-email)

Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Parliament of Fowls is a 700-line poem from the late 14th century, utilising a dream vision to expound on the themes of love and choice. It opens with the narrator reading Cicero, seeking truth, but falls into a dream led by Scipio Africanus through celestial realms to an imposing gate, reminiscent of Dante’s depiction of the entrance to the Inferno of Hell. Inside, he witnesses a parliament overseen by Nature, where birds choose their mates. The narrative centres on three male eagles vying for a female, whose opportunity to choose is granted a deferral for a year by Nature, highlighting the value of free will. The other birds are then allowed to mate, and the poem concludes with a welcoming of spring, leaving the dreamer to ponder upon his vision, unresolved in his quest. The parliament is convened on St. Valentine’s Day - the poem being notable for its early, likely original, association of romance with St. Valentine.

Author Details

Geoffrey Chaucer was born c1343 in London to a prosperous family of wine-merchants. Through his father’s connections, he began his official duties as page to the Countess of Ulster, the wife of Lionel, second son to the king, Edward III. Chaucer subsequently served as courtier, diplomat and civil servant while also establishing his poetic reputation.

He appears to have travelled widely in Europe during his varied court career. He married Philippa de Roet, lady-in-waiting to the queen, and sister to Katherine Swynford, John of Gaunt’s third wife, and flourished under John of Gaunt’s patronage. His most prolific period of writing was during his time as comptroller of customs for the port of London, between 1374 and 1386, both “Troilus and Criseyde”, his finely constructed poem based on classical and Renaissance sources, and the early “Canterbury Tales”, his celebration of the English social landscape, dating from that time.

Chaucer is thought to have died in October 1400, not long after the overthrow of his royal patron Richard II and the accession of Henry IV, and he was buried in Westminster Abbey, in what has become known as Poet’s Corner, that being his right as a tenant of the Abbey Close. His son Thomas had a significant career at the court of successive kings, and as Speaker of the House of Commons.

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Kline, A.S.,

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